NGO mobilizes community to improve maternal health

Socioserve-Ghana, a non-governmental organisation, has started a two-year project to mobilize community members’ action to reduce maternal mortality in the Eastern Region. The project is dubbed Mobilizing Community Action towards Maternal Health Improvement (MOCAMI) and it is running in six communities each in five districts in the Region. The districts are Lower Manya Krobo, Kwahu West, Kwaebibirem, Asuogyaman and Birim Central. The project is expected to identify community concerns towards maternal health issues with regards to health services in the identified communities and to empower them to take action on finding solutions to the challenges. Star-Ghana is the funding organization for the MOCAMI project which started in February and will end in January 2015. Under the project, Socioserve-Ghana has undertaken a baseline survey in the project districts which had unearthed many challenges with regards to maternal health facing health service delivery for redress. The project also undertook a social audit using the Community Score Card (CSC) process to gather issues from project communities and a validation of the CSC findings with key stakeholders held. The Socioserve-Ghana, through the MOCAMI, has formed health committees to undertake advocacy actions under the project. So far it has established Mobile Maternal Emergency Response Services and has also trained 52 communities’ maternal health volunteers to undertake education in all project areas. It had facilitated the establishment of community ambulance systems in hard-to-reach areas for easy accessibility to service providers. Complaints pathway in each of the district had also been established to encourage regular feedback from users of the health facilities. Highlighting the objectives of the project to stakeholders at Nkawkaw on Thursday, Ms Rita Ntoso, Programmes Manager of Socioserve-Ghana, said it would promote community involvement in assessing performance of health facilities and providers in the delivery of maternal health services. She said the project would improve maternal health services of selected health facilities and providers through facilitating collaborative problem solving efforts between community members, health service providers and other stakeholders. Source: GNA